The Whakatāne District’s solid waste activities will cost less and achieve better environmental and service outcomes when new contract arrangements take effect on 1 October.

The Whakatāne District Council Policy Committee last week approved the finalisation of a new, 7.75-year contract with Waste Management NZ Limited, to replace four existing contracts for kerbside collections, transport of residual waste to landfill and the operation of refuse transfer stations in Whakatāne and Murupara.

Amongst the key benefits are direct savings and estimated indirect savings and additional revenue totalling more than $250,000 a year. Significant increases in the volume of recyclable material collected and a reduction in the waste sent to landfill are also expected.

Mayor Tony Bonne said the contract offered long-term cost stability for one of the Council’s “big ticket” services. “This means we can provide affordable solid waste collection and disposal services well into the next decade and be confident that we will meet our obligations to minimise waste and reduce the District’s environmental footprint,” he said.

Reporting to the Committee, Council Solid Waste Manager Nigel Clarke said the expected benefits flow largely from a change to a two-stream, ‘glass out’ recycling system. This will see existing 60-litre recycling crates used only for glass and a new, yellow-lid 240-litre wheelie bin supplied to households for all other recyclables – paper/cardboard, tins, cans and plastics.

“All plastic material (grades 1-7) will be able to be recycled, as opposed to the current system, which allows only grades 1 and 2 to be collected. As a result, we can expect a significant increase in the amount of plastic recycled,” Mr Clarke said. “And, based on the experience in other areas where the two-stream system has been introduced, the additional space provided by the new wheelie bin should also increase recycling, so we can expect an overall volume increase in excess of 20 percent of the recycled waste stream.”

Any recycling gain results in an equivalent decrease in the volume of waste going to landfill, which means reduced disposal and transport costs.

Other benefits the revised waste contract will deliver include:

• An expected 120-plus tonnes of wood waste will be diverted from landfill to bioenergy use each year
• Savings in glass handling and an increase in the volume of useable material
• Increased Council income from glass and recycled metal
• Waste Management will invest $50,000 to improve the odour control system at the Whakatāne Waste Transfer Station
• Simplified and more efficient sorting processes for all recyclables
• Health and safety gains as a result of reduced manual collection requirements
• The use of wheelie bins for recyclables will keep materials clean and dry and reduce windblown litter

The new system will involve a change in kerbside collection routines, with recyclables collected every second week – alternating with the existing, fortnightly green waste collection. However, residents will be putting out the same number of bins or crates over each two-week period.  Information resources will be prepared and distributed to all households in the lead-up to the introduction of the new waste service, to ensure that residents are aware of the new collection schedule and the need to separate glass from other recyclables.